


In The Aftermath

by ordinarylittleme



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-30 23:37:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10887270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ordinarylittleme/pseuds/ordinarylittleme





	In The Aftermath

When Emily dies, no one knows what to do. It's not like she was young; she was forty-six years old. But it's not like she was old, either. It takes everybody by surprise that she died by something as normal as a car accident.  
And Leah doesn't know what to do. What to feel. She wants to cry, to regret not being there for her over the years, for holding onto the grudge of Sam leaving her for Emily. It's not like it was Emily's fault. It wasn't, of course it wasn't. Or Sam's (but Leah would rather have needles pricked into her toes than to ever admit that).  
But she can't quite regret keeping her distance from her cousin. She loved Sam, with all her heart and soul. Maybe Sam imprinting on Emily ripped that love for her out of him, but it didn't work that way for her. Knowing she wasn't destined for him, that her cousin, her best friend, was, hurt more than if it had been a complete stranger. Watching them through the years, even as it slowly became easier, still never lost its sharp, painful edge.  
Sometimes Leah thinks maybe Emily wasn't destined to be with Sam. Maybe there was something in their genetic makeup that made Sam imprint on Emily, but it didn't mean they were fated to be with each other.  
After all, Sam and Emily's relationship had never been easy. First there was the "bear attack", which of course was not actually a bear attack. Then Emily's medical issues, eventually concluding with her unable to have children (and if that isn't a sign that they aren't made for each other then Leah doesn't know what is. Imprinting is, after all, supposed to choose the person best to help carry on the werewolf line).  
She wishes that she would just imprint on some nice human boy who can make her erase every little feeling she has left for Sam. A tiny part wishes for it to happen to get back at Sam; to say, I'm over you, I'm not pining after you, I hate you.  
She spends her days afterward Emily's death as a human. She doesn't phase, doesn't think about phasing, because she doesn't want the pack knowing her thoughts right now. And she can't stop thinking about everything, about Sam and Emily, and the past. She finds the months without phasing surprisingly painful. As much as she used to hate being a werewolf, the being so out-of-control and being the only female in the pack, and most of all having her choices stolen from her, she has grown to like it over the years. She likes running, the air rushing through her fur, the enhanced smell, the better sight.  
To put it simply, she likes what she is now. She likes who she is now. The wolf, with all its cons (the pack sharing thoughts, the imprinting, the lack of menstrual cycles), has helped her come to terms with everything about herself and Sam Uley. Twenty-eight years since they broke up, and she loves him still. It's hard not to, even when he still treats her like she's one of the guys, and only ever demands things of her, expecting to her to obey. But she also realizes she has moved on.  
At least, she thinks she has. She is proved wrong when he shows up at her door, soaked to the bone in rain and looking exactly the same as he did when he showed up to dump her decades earlier. His hands are shoved down his pockets, head bent down, and tears running down his cheeks.  
"Sam," she says, her breath caught in her throat.  
He looks up, and she's lost. She hates (loves) him so much. She doesn't want him to do this to her again. She doesn't want to be a replacement to him, to be replacing Emily. Not to Sam.  
"Leah." His voice breaks. Looking into his eyes, she can't help but cross over to him, and hug him. He holds her tight in his arms. "Leah." He sighs.  
She can't help but hold on to him, too, and pray for a happier morning.


End file.
